Tying Up Loose Ends
by kman134
Summary: This is a one-shot sequel to the Visitor and it's set after "What Lies Above." From seeing Lion-O hurt and betrayed by Pumyra, Cheetara tells him a secret that will either shock him or bring him relief.


Disclaimer: I do not own ThunderCats. Only the OCS.

Author's Note: This is based on the Betrayal Theory created by NoWhere ManX, and other fans which says that Cheetara is only dating Tygra to prevent him from betraying the team and I was inspired by Prairie24.

Tying Up Loose Ends

The Thundertank drove away from Avista City. Since the Thundertank was now repaired by the Berbils from its encounter with the Necromechs, it was now hard to drive it with new bells and whistles installed at the controls. It kept stopping as it moved. Panthro was relieved to have the tank back and leaving the Felinar with the Berbils, except for Tygra who was not relieved.

"Blasted upgrades! I can't get this thing to move right!" exclaimed Panthro. His left paw kept pressing buttons while his right arm was on the steering wheel. "And will you stop pulling those levers!"

Tygra was sitting next to the general, pulling levers and pressing buttons, hoping to get the 'new-and-improved' Thundertank, perfectly, mobile, saying, "Hey, I'm trying to help!"

"Well, it's not working and it would help if you'd stop touching things!" instead of solving the problem. Tygra and Panthro just reach at each others throats. "If Elijah was here, he would know what to do!"

Meanwhile, Cheetara roamed through the Thundertanks' corridors, searching for the young king. For the passed three weeks, Lion-O's been acting...not like himself. Looking like all the life in him had disappeared. She walks into the tanks' hanger where she spots Lion-O, sitting on a bench and polishing the Sword of Omens to pass the time. Cheetara walk over and sat next to her king, concerned for her king.

"Lion-O, are...are you okay?" she asked with a sad expression on her face.

"Yes, I'm okay, Cheetara," Lion-O responded but he didn't take his eyes off the Sword. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Cheetara sighed, feeling a streak of worry flow into her. She explains, "B-because of how we lost the Tech Stone and how Pumyra betrayed us. I was worried about how you were feeling by that."

"Cheetara, I'm okay. There's nothing wrong with me," That was the only time Lion-O looked away from the Sword of Omens. He added, "But I was surprised that Pumyra turned out to be a traitor."

Standing up, Cheetara asks Lion-O a question that took all the strength she had in her body, "Do...do you love Pumyra?" That caught Lion-O's attention.

"No. Why do you ask that?"

"No reason; just wanting to know," Lion-O could see Cheetara blushing a little, and vice versa. "You always hanged out with Pumyra and you always shared conversations with her."

Lion-O raised an eyebrow and retorted, "That's just me being friendly. I did, however, cared for her and for what she went through but, now that I know the truth, I don't even know what to believe, anymore."

An-hour-later, Thundertank stopped as the ThunderCats prepared to set up camp. Lion-O went to gather fire wood with Cheetara by his side, unbeknownst at Tygra giving his brother the stink eye.

Lion-O's hands were full of sticks and so were Cheetara's but they did not returned to the campsite. Instead, they just talked.

"Lion-O, I know you're troubled. Please, just tell me," Cheetara stated as her stoic face turned into a frown. "You haven't talked to the others and it worries me."

"Nothing is wrong with me," Lion-O started giving Cheetara an irritated look. Soon, they heard foot steps coming towards them and a voice, shouting, "I heard something coming in this direction. Come on!"

Lion-O and Cheetara turned, watching as a few Brighton Legionaries marched into their direction. Lion-O grabbed Cheetara by the hand and ran into a cave, dropping the firewood on the way. They watched as the Brighton Legionaries march on by without even noticing their existence.

Unbeknownst to Cheetara, Lion-O was on top of her, staring at the cave's exit and watching the Brightons walk pass them. After that, Lion-O soon realizes and hops off of the cleric. "I'm sorry, Cheetara," Lion-O apologizes but Cheetara adds, "It...it's okay. You did what was necessary." She tried standing up, only for a sharp pain to occur in her left heel. "Ow!

"What's wrong!" Lion-O exclaims.

"I think I twisted my ankle," Cheetara replies. Tearing a piece of the right legging from his pants, Lion-O wraps it around Cheetara's ankle, along with two sticks.

"There, that'll help you 'til we get back to the tank," Lion-O confirmed. Blushing, Cheetara looked away from Lion-O, saying "Thank you" and hoping he wouldn't see her face.

oooooo

Back at the Thundertank, Wilykit and Kat stepped out. They couldn't take another minute of Tygra and Panthro arguing. It was like hearing children fighting over the last candy fruit, which is ironic since their 9-years-old.

Before the Wilys could return to the Thundertank, they soon heard rustling in the bushes. Looking closely, they spotted masked men with guns, in which, they exclaimed while running back into the Thundertank, "Panthro, Tygra, they're back! The Brighton Legionaries are back!"

The two stopped their argument and looked at the monitors. The twins were right. The legionaries knew they were spotted but they laid low until they were given the signal. Just then, the centurion gave the order to "Charge!" and every Brighton in his century ran and fired their rifles at the Thundertank; however, they didn't count on Panthro and Tygra retaliating. Panthro unsheathed his nunchucks and started striking 30 legionaries, bashing skulls and snapping necks. Tygra, on the other hand, went invisible and attacked by tricking them into shooting each other. But it they were still out numbered.

The Wilys watched as the two ThunderCats fought with every strife. "We've got to do something, Kat! They'll die if we don't!" Then they started pressing buttons and when they pressed the last button on the control panel, the entire Thundertank transformed. Appearing from the sides were gattling guns and from the top, missiles. When the transformation was completed, the tank started firing at every hostile target in its area.

"What in hell," roared Panthro, shocked at seeing lasers and rockets coming out of the tank. "Fall back to the tank!"

Tygra followed Panthro back to the tank crying out, "Okay, either Ro-Bear Bill has gone insane or this was from your design!"

The centurion gathered the surviving legionaries in his century, retreating to the jungle. After the legionaries disappeared, Wilykit and Kat pressed the button, again, reverting the Thundertank to its original form.

oooooo

Lion-O and Cheetara rested in the cave, waiting for the others to find them but next thing you know it, a rocket from the Thundertank strikes the roof of the cave, cealing in the entrance and trapping the two.

"Whiskers...we're trapped!" Lion-O exclaimed, standing up and ramming his fist into the rubble. He sat back down against the wall, facing Cheetara, and contemplated on the matter, "Great, now how are the others going to find us?"

"Things are going to get worse, Lion-O. In a couple of hours, we'll run out of air and we'll suffocate," Cheetara explains the situation she and Lion-O are in.

"So, what do you think we should do, Cheetara?"

"I think we should wait, Lion-O, and hope that the others will come."

An hour had passed and Lion-O and Cheetara could feel the oxygen leaving the cave. He stared at Cheetara's face, focusing on her beauty and thinking, "How could she pick my brother over me?"

Lion-O was feeling tired and he could feel his eyelids, slowly, falling but before they did, he saw Cheetara crawling towards him and laid on top of him. "Ch-Cheetara, what are you doing?"

"If we are going to see our makers, then I must tell you something, Lion-O," Cheetara leaned in close to Lion-O's face, whispering a shocking secret, "I don't love Tygra. I...love...you, Lion-O."

Their lips locked, Lion-O couldn't believe what he heard. If she didn't love Tygra, then why was she with him?

Lion-O asked her, "Cheetara, you love me? But Tygra?"

Cheetara started to explain: "After you went into the Astral Plane, I started having...visions; visions of Tygra, wearing Mumm-Ra's symbol on his chest and leading an army of his own against us. In those vision, I watched him ending your life while he smiled and laughed in twisted glee." Lion-O saw tears flowing from Cheetara's eyes. "I didn't want to lose you. So I had to make the ultimate sacrifice...I had to be Tygra's mate and it worked, but then you saw us kissing and our relationship was never the same. I thought you forgave me and we could be friends, once again, but then came Pumyra and you kept spending time with her and it tore me up inside." the tears became a river. "And...and it felt like you didn't love me, anymore."

This was the first time Lion-O saw Cheetara express her emotions. To calm her down, Lion-O wrapped his arms around her and kissed her lips, understanding her predicament and comforted her as best as he could.

Hours had passed, thinking that this was it; that this was the end. No hope was coming to them, that is, until Lion-O realized something was off. "Cheetara, Cheetara," he called her name, shaking her to wake her up as she laid on top of him. "Cheetara, we're not suffocating."

"W-what?"

"I think there's a way out. There must be some kind of opening in this cave." Lion-O helped Cheetara up, carrying her piggyback style, bringing her to the back of the cave. As they walked, the two noticed a breeze. The breeze grew, becoming windier. Then they saw light. It was the sun setting. They made it out alive and they were happy to be alive.

oooooo

Meanwhile, Tygra, Panthro, and the Wilys formed a search party, looking for Lion-O and Cheetara but they gave up and returned to camp, hoping they would show up in the morning but they were surprised to see the two setting together in front of a bonfire.

"Where the hell have you two been!?" Panthro shouted at Lion-O and Cheetara.

Lion-O replied with a shrug, "Well...we were hiding from the Brighton Legion and then we got lost for a few hours."

Tygra saw Cheetara's injury and ran to her side. He looked at his brother and shouted, "What happened to her, Lion-O!"

Cheetara patted Tygra on the shoulder and, calmly, explained, "Tygra, it's okay. I just twisted my ankle, a bit. It was a good thing Lion-O took care of it, or else, I wouldn't have made back."

Tygra looked at his brother, again, and said with a growl "thank you, Lion-O." that must have hurt a lot to say.

"Hey, no problem, bro."

As they all went into the Thundertank, Lion-O looked at Cheetara and thought, "So that's her reason and I can respect that. Anything to keep Tygra from turning on us and to protect me from death." Then he smiled. This was going to be some adventure.

The End


End file.
